Revolut hires Charli XCX for private festival, Groucho shuts its doors and more; catch up on the latest City gossip in this week’s edition of The Capitalist
FINTECH IS BRAT
That’s according to Revolut, who hosted a private free festival for its banking customers last weekend headlined by none other than Brat superstar Charli XCX to celebrate reaching 50m worldwide customers. The event saw 3,000 Revolut users descend on underground venue Outernet London for a two-day fintech jamboree, which included traditional panels with the likes of Steven Bartlett and Revolut co-founder Nik Storonsky, before an arguably jarring gearshift to end with a performance from the 360 party girl. Revolut’s head of growth Antoine Le Nel said the festival was a great way to show how the company – a banking app – was actually about “lifestyle”. Altogether, the festivities are thought to have cost the company upwards of £1m, but will probably go some way to help move the firm on from past allegations of a toxic workplace culture.
OUCHO FOR GROUCHO
Spare some pity for the Gen X ad execs who are being forced to search for a new watering hole after the sudden closure of The Groucho Club this week due to allegations of a “serious criminal offence” having taken place at the premises. The private members’ club, most famous as the heady stomping ground of the Britpop A-list in the 90s, on Tuesday said its licence had been suspended with immediate effect by Westminster City Council. Perhaps the club’s applicant guidelines, which demands its membership share its “maverick spirit”, will have to be revised.
PANTOMIME POLITICS
Chancellor Rachel Reeves got a bit of a frosty reception at the CBI annual conference earlier this week, but the audience was positively enthusiastic compared to attendees at recent City dinner. The Capitalist’s spies report that upon mention of the Chancellor’s name by a guest speaker, the Square Mile bigwigs burst into a chorus of boos. Whether the jeers were of a pantomime nature or something more venomous, we can’t be sure, though it’s worth noting that Reeves wasn’t actually present – which was probably for the best.
HELLO IF YOU’RE READING, CHANCELLOR
Perhaps instead the Chancellor was winding down at home with a copy of The Economist, which, along with the Financial Times, was revealed as Reeves’ reading material of choice in her most recent set of expenses. Politics UK posted the revelation in an apparent bid to drum up outrage earlier this week, tweeting that the Chancellor’s reading habits had cost the taxpayer a shocking £371 since March. The taxpayer, however, gathering from the tweet’s response, seemed largely to approve of the country’s most powerful fiscal decision-maker having access to financial news. But why then, you surely ask, doesn’t City AM appear on the list? The answer of course is because we’re free, like all the best things in life.
THE LION AND THE DRAGON
It was Singapore Slings for lunch on Thursday as ambassadors, bosses, think tankers and news anchors gathered in the City for the glitzy if subterranean launch of Asian news network CNA in the UK. While ties between East and West have felt stretched of late, the Singapore-based English-language news network says it’s crucial for decision makers in Europe to “understand Asia” as a patchwork of nations with “distinct cultures, political systems, economic development trajectories and challenges”. Great food, plentiful drinks and informative documentaries seemed to get the Square Mile watching.